Description |
For the Awiakay, hearing a cicada (in Tok Pisin called lailut) invariably triggers a nostalgic feeling. While one can occasionally hear a cicada close to the village, their shrill sounds dominate the scene closer to the mountains, where the creeks are clear and white stones replace the mud around the banks. The sound of cicadas reminds the Awiakay of freedom, which they feel when they stay in upriver bushcamps, away from their social obligations and the daily tensions in the village. It is this sound that the Awiakay start missing when in town and longing for the bush. Some Awiakay songs sing about the moving feeling of coming back to a place where one can hear cicadas.
Image:
02: nerut ‘cicada’, final design.
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